Friday, December 12, 2025
Monday, December 08, 2025
Publishing Portal--December 8, 2025
The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
=Two Big Events this week promoting Nick Digilio's book. One is Wednesday and one is Friday.
=Wednesday night (12/10) Nick will be at Lake Theater in Oak Park hosting the latest installment of Nick's picks. This time he is screening the film Batman Returns. He'll also be chatting with the crowd and signing and selling copies of his new book.
=Friday night is the big Book Launch Party for 40 Years, 40 Films. Come out to Kaiser Tiger restaurant (1415 W. Randolph) in Chicago. Nick will be holding court, selling books, signing books, and probably enjoying some delicious food. The restaurant is renowned for it's bacon and sausages...and beer.
=Axios Chicago featured the book this morning. This week you can also hear Nick on the Car Stuff podcast (Tonight/Monday), WGN-TV on Spotlight Chicago at 1pm (Tuesday/Dec 9), and a few other things. We'll let you know when things are finalized.
=Worlds colliding. Eckhartz Press publisher Rick Kaempfer appeared as a guest last week on one of Nick Digilio's podcasts...
=Thanks to everyone who came out to see Doug E. Jones at his Book Launch party last weekend in Skokie at Sketchbook. Doug flew in from Portland to host this event.
=Dick Allen has won another award. On the one-year anniversary of learning he would be in baseball's Hall of Fame, Dick has been posthumously awarded the Pitch & Hit Club of Chicago’s prestigious Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame Award! Accepting the award on his father’s behalf will be Dick Allen, Jr., who has been instrumental in preserving and advancing Allen’s story. The event will take place at the organization’s annual banquet on January 18th, located in their Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. for autographs and a memorabilia auction, with dinner scheduled for 5 p.m.. Attendees will also be treated to an EXCLUSIVE five-minute extended trailer of the film My Father Dick Allen. For tickets, go to The Pitch & Hit Club’s website, www.pitchandhitclub.com, and check out the website https://lnkd.in/gkBnJsTw to read more about this event and stay updated about the documentary coming 2026.
That movie, of course, is the passion project of Chili Dog MVP authors David Fletcher and John Owens.
=Chili Dog MVP is the story of that magical 1972 White Sox season. Chili Dog MVP authors Dr. Fletcher & John Owens were with Allen's family when the news came out that he was in the Hall. They were also there in Cooperstown (so were Eckhartz Press publishers Rick Kaempfer & David Stern) when he was enshrined. A new updated version of the book will be coming out in 2026 to coincide with the film, and will include new material related to Dick's Hall of Fame induction.
=Some inside info on the Mob Adjacent film project...
=One of the things we love about the book Mob Adjacent is the way it mixes Hollywood with good old fashioned mobsters. This week is a great example. Two very different people born this week in history can be found in the pages of the book: Frank Sinatra (December 12), and John 'No Nose' DiFronzo (December 13). One was the Chairman of the board. The other was the Don.
=Full video of Robert Conlan's appearance on ChicagoNow on Fox-32 in Chicago.
=This week last year the authors of The Flip Side were all over town.
=A jam-packed Garabaldi's pizza in Hoffman Estates was the site for the book launch party of The Flip Side. Carl Rosenbaum flew in from Arizona to be there. Larry was there too (holding a cake below), as was Ken Churilla. A lot of former Flip-Side employees and family showed up as well, and we sold out of books entirely. What a fun afternoon.
=The next day Larry Rosenbaum came to the Arcada Theater and did a chat/signing along with fellow Eckhartz Press authors Rick Kaempfer and Mitch Michaels (and Jim Summaria/Mark Plotnick from Chicago History press). You may say he's a dreamer, but he's not the only one.
=The bookclub choice of Illinois Music Archives was The Flip Side.
=Carl was on the radio with Ray Stevens on WLS-AM 890. Listen here.
=And finally, both brothers were on television at WGN-TV. Watch it here.
=The Loop Files Author Rick Kaempfer was also at the signing at the Arcada.
=This week in 2023 (December 12), The Loop Files had a super successful (sold out!) book signing at Uncork Unwind in Des Plaines. A bunch of former Loopers (photo below--Jim Wiser, Matt Bisbee, John Swany Swanson, and Bridget Kaempfer) came out to the signing along with a big contigent of Loop fans.
=Author Rick Kaempfer also did two memorable podcast appearances this week in 2023. He appeared with Bill Turck on his podcast Playtime (December 14), and the Creativity Talkin' podcast (December 10)
=Doin' the Cruise author Mitch Michaels was at the Arcada signing too.
=Are you sensing a theme here? This week in 2017 (December 10), the Elmhurst History Museum did an entire exhibit about The Loop and Disco Demolition. Naturally, they invited Mitch Michaels to come out and sell his book Doin the Cruise there. We captured a bit of that history in these photos...
=Author Ken Smoller made an appearance on the Nightside with Dan Rea program to talk about his obsession: Sports stadiums. You can listen to it here.
=This week in 2018, Chet Coppock appeared at a card show in Orland Park. At one point, he grabbed the microphone and charmed the entire audience there.
=This week (December 12) in 2021, Randy Merkin was in the Glen Shopping Center signing and selling copies of his book Behind the Glass. It only made sense to sell a sports book in a sports store.
=This week in 2016 (December 12), Mark Gelinas held the second book release party for his cancer-journey-memoir Gel Strong. This one took place in his town of residence, Atlanta Georgia.
=This week in 2022 (December 11), Rick Kaempfer held the release party for his coming-of-age spy-thriller novel Back in the DDR.
=Two days later (December 13), Axios Chicago came out with their list of the year's best Christmas book ideas, and Back in the DDR was on the list.
=Happy birthday this week (December 13) to Cubs Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins. Fergie was kind enough to stop by Randy Richardson and Becky Sarwate's Cubsessions book launch party back in 2018. That's fellow former Cub Rich Nye (red shirt) in the foreground.
=Another former teammate of both Cubs pitchers is former Cubs outfielder Gene Hiser. He was at the Cubsessions launch party too (shown here with publisher Rick Kaempfer). Hiser's birthday is this week as well (December 11). The launch party, by the way, was at the immortal Murphy's Pub right outside of Wrigley Field.
=This week in 2014 (December 12), Chuck Quinzio was interviewed by the Author Learning Center.
=Former Chicago Bear running back Matt Forte is celebrating a birthday this week (December 10). Joel Daly met good ol' #22 backstage at Windy City Live when both of them appeared on the same day. Joel was there promoting his memoir The Daly News.
=JJ Novak's book Meta-Stories is a collection of stories that help people deal with mental health issues. One of them is appropriate to feature this week because December 13 is the beginning of the Late Winter Dear Season in Illinois (One deer limit). Novak has a story called The Deer Who Couldn't Cross the Road.
=Eleven years ago this week (December 8, 2014), we did the launch of Father Knows Nothing. A great crowd showed up, including the three boys and a wife who are the subjects of Rick Kaempfer's humor columns over the years. Before you call it child abuse, realize that the kids love the book. Although...they refused to be photographed at the signing.
=This week in 2011, Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer were on WGN Radio with Brian Noonan discussing their co-written novel (and the first book Eckhartz Press ever published) The Living Wills. You can still listen to that interview here.
Christmas Signing
=This week in 2014 (December 12), Eckhartz Press had our first group Christmas signing. This one took place in the bowels of Michigan Avenue at the Billy Goat tavern. Among the authors there: L-R Bruce Bohrer, David Stern, Rick Kaempfer, Rich King, John Landecker, Joel Daly, and Pat Colander. Pat's not in the photo because she insisted on taking it.
Friday, December 05, 2025
Thursday, December 04, 2025
Wednesday, December 03, 2025
Monday, December 01, 2025
Publishing Portal--December 1, 2025
The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
The Sun at the End of the Road
=Chicago artist/author Tony Fitzpatrick created two final posters before he passed away, and they are both now available at Eckhartz Press.
=The Sun at the End of the Road — 12 x 18 Release Poster
This 12 x 18 limited-edition poster marks the release of Tony Fitzpatrick’s book, The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches from an American Life—a final chapter from an artist whose voice, vision, and attitude are woven into the bones of Chicago.
Commemorating Tony Fitzpatrick’s Final Exhibition
Honor a landmark moment in Chicago’s art history with this 12 x 18 limited-edition poster celebrating Songbirds and Crucifixions—Tony Fitzpatrick’s final public exhibition.
=If you read this early enough this morning (Monday) you'll still have a chance to catch Eckhartz Press author Bob Conlon on TV. He's appearing on WFLD-TV (Channel 32 in Chicago) at 10:20am to talk about his novel, Celtic Knot. Publisher Rick Kaempfer is tagging along, so we should have some photos for next week's Publishing Portal.
=Jeff Reiter has been hustling, promoting his book The Best of Words on Birds. This description of Jeff and his book appeared on the Birding Wire...
Jeff Reiter is very good at explaining things, especially the different ways to enjoy birding, while regularly pointing out how every birder has their own way of getting the most out of our bird-oriented activities. And he tells a lot of enjoyable stories that reflect his own brand of birding, as well as others’ preferences. Although he has not embraced bird photography yet, Reiter does share a beautiful collection of more than 50 color photographs selected from other birders’ files that are presented in a central section of Words on Birds.
=Here's a great example of a beautiful bird picture from the book...(Baltimore Oriole by Linda Peterson)
=Jeff also got a shout-out in this week's Daily Herald from Opinion Editor (and fellow Eckhartz Press author) Jim Slusher in his annual Thanksgiving column...
=Speaking of Jim Slusher, his book was named a finalist for Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association. The announcement will be coming soon if he is the winner or not. (He's a winner either way as far as we're concerned). Jim Slusher's book is filled with some of the great columns he has written over his 25 years at the Daily Herald. One of them was in the newspaper on this day in 2001. It was his tribute to the recently deceased Beatles great George Harrison. Worth the price of admission.
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=This week is the beginning of Nick Digilio's big publicity push for 40 Years, 40 Films. He did an interview with the podcast Christmas Movies Actually (listen here), an interview with Axios (coming this week), and an interview/photo session with the Tribune (coming this week). More press coming next week with The Car Stuff podcast, WGN-TV, and Kelly Leonard's Second City podcast.
=Two big chances are coming next week for you to meet Nick Digilio. We hope you have these on your calendar. Next Wednesday (12/10), Nick is hosting a screening of Batman Returns at Lake Theater in Oak Park. He will also be selling and signing his book 40 Years, 40 Films.
=Next Friday (12/12) is the big official Book Release party for the book at Kaiser Tiger (1415 W. Randolph) in Chicago. Not only will Nick be signing and selling his book, this restaurant is known for their bacon, brats, and beer. What more can you ask for? For more information about that event, click here.
=William C. Turck interviewed Gloria Golec this week. Good interview...
=The characters that weave in and out of the lives of Mob Adjacent authors Jeffrey and Michael Gentile include some of the most notorious mobsters in Chicago history. One of them, Joey Doves Aiuppa, was born this week (December 1) in 1907. At one time he was the leader of the Chicago Outfit.
=The one year anniversary of The Flip Side book was this past weekend. If you follow Flip Side Freaks on facebook, they have been posting some incredible photos from the book (and a few that didn't make it into the final version of the book.) Here is an example, Ted Nugent at the Super Bowl of Rock...
=This week last year Dan McNeil had his book launch party in Griffith Indiana. Dan’s launch party was a huge hit. Thanks to everyone who came out. It was a great afternoon.
=Eric Litt joined the John Landecker show on WGN Radio for a fun chat about his book Worth a Second Look. You can listen to it here.
=The new issue of Illinois Entertainer has a piece about the Loop exhibit at the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Read it here.
=Happy birthday to one of the big stars of The Loop Files, Garry Meier. Garry was with the Loop during both of the Loop heydays (late 70s, late 80s) and was very cooperative with the book project. (Photo: L-R, Garry, Dave Logan, Steve Dahl)
=Also this week in 2023 (December 5), this great review of the book was posted by Paul McVay...
=St. Nicholas day (December 6) reminds us that the holiday season is approaching, and at Eckhartz Press our signature holiday book is Donald G. Evans book An Off-White Christmas. Pick up your copy today.
=This week in 2018 (December 1), Don and his illustrator Hannah made an appearance at Oak Park Library. The following night (December 2), the book was performed live on stage. It was an incredible thing to see...
=This week in 2018 (December 1) was the 60th anniversary of the Lady of our Angels school fire. Alex Burkholder made the rounds that day, talking about his book, which was about that tragic fire. Here is a Q&A with Alex. He also appeared at a firehouse, selling and signing the book, and leading a discussion about that day. A few of the photos are below. Alex passed away in 2024.
=This week in 2018 (December 1), we also held a launch party in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago for The Scar Dance by William Mansfield. The book was later named a finalist for CWA Book of the Year.
=This week in 2012 (December 3), the book A Reluctant Immigrant was released. Author Felitzitas Sudendorf combined the story of her immigration to America with a cookbook featuring recipes from her native land. It was the only book released under our imprint Helgard Press. A totally unique book that sold quite well in the German community of Chicago. Unfortunately, Sudendorf passed away less than a year later.
=Ten years ago this week in 2015 (December 1), the Eckhartz Press book Grun Weiss Vor! was released. The book chronicles the history of one of Chicago's historic soccer clubs, Green White, on the eve of their 60th anniversary. Authors Rick Kaempfer and Todd Schneider were on hand to sign and sell copies of the book.
=Need a good traveling book this holiday season? Take a cue from this post on Facebook around this time last year...
Roger Badesch wrote my very most favorite traveling book: easy to read in short sections (for when I inevitably fall asleep on the plane or when the lines are longer than expected) and fun to tell other people about when they ask what I'm reading! So far it's kept me company this week in Baltimore and Boston, and we're headed to NM tomorrow. 🤗 If you don't have it yet, strong recommend!
=Two of the sports stars featured in Randy Merkin's book Behind the Glass are celebrating birthdays this week. The great receiver Terrell Owens (December 7) gets his own chapter in the book, as does one of the rare Chicago Cubs who played ten seasons for the North Siders, the last man standing from the World Series Cubs, Kyle Hendricks (December 7).
=This week in 2022 (December 7), Chuck Swirsky had a book signing at the United Center before a Bulls game. The Bulls announcer did the pre-game show, then zipped into the gift shop to sign and sell books, then zipped back upstairs to broadcast the game.
=This week in 2022 (December 1), Andy Masur also reviewed the book for Barrett Sports Media.
=For those of you who have a copy of one of the editions of EveryCubEver (there are currently seven of them), here are a few Cubs to check out this week. All were born this week in history: Big Ed Reulbach (December 1), Andre Rogers (December 2), Cozy Dolan (December 3), Lee Smith (December 4), PK Wrigley (December 5), and Stan Hack (December 6). Great stories about all of them are found in EveryCubEver.
=Plus this photo. Those are Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins and Lee Smith high-fiving over the head of author Rick Kaempfer's son Sean.
=Do we even need to point out what a perfect holiday gift this book is for the Cubs fan in your family?
Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind
=Vicki Quade's book about her encounters with the every day people of Chicago is split into sections. One of those sections is about her encounters in her car. Seems like a good week to point that out, as the first assembly line for the Model T car was unveiled this week (December 1) in 1913.
=We never thought this book would make a comeback, but here we are. Melania impersonator Lauren LoGiudice wrote all about her experiences traveling around the country doing her comedy show. Other comedians took notice, and one of them, Ritch Shydner, is celebrating a birthday this week (December 3). Here's what he said about Lauren's book...
“When I first spotted the cover of “Inside Melania,” I couldn’t think of anyone I was less interested in learning more about than that soulless gold-digger. Then I opened the book and couldn’t put it down. Lauren masterfully used satire, parody and irony to process the Slovenian Ice Queen through every comedic literary device in the English language, from fairy tales to dirty nursery rhymes to rap. Lauren’s book returned me to the essential power and joy of good comedy, and showed me there were a lot of laughs inside a soulless gold-digger.”
=We still remember the day that Chet Coppock called us because he was so excited about the latest endorsement he received for his book. Skip Bayless is celebrating a birthday this week (December 4), but Chet was celebrating when Skip delivered this blurb for the book...
I bought a copy of your book and I read it…and it’s sensational. Great stories and off-camera, off-mike insights. You truly are a legend.
You may have trusted him for years as he brought you the news. You may have been entertained when you heard him yodel. You may have thrilled to his Renaissance man exploits as world traveler, pilot, actor, and lawyer. Read this book to find out why he became all those things…and why Joel Daly is my Dad.
Joe Jackson vs. The Chicago American League Ballclub
=This week in 1951 (December 5), the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson died. 27 years before his death Jackson sat in a courtroom in Milwaukee as he tried to clear his name from the Black Sox scandal. Last year, a hundred years after the trial, Dr. David Fletcher and Jason Pomrenke got their hands on the trial transcript. We were happy to publish this historical document at Eckhartz Press. It's the only published account of the trial.
=A few rock stars that have birthdays this week are also featured in Bobby Skafish's great rock and roll interview book We Have Company. Tom Waits (December 7) and REM guitarist Peter Buck (December 6) both get their own chapters in Bobby's book. That's Buck on the left, Skafish in the middle, and REM's Mike Mills on the right.
=This week in 2013 (December 6), Chuck Quinzio was on the air at WCPT (AM 820) with his former colleague, Dick Kay.
=This week in 2016 (December 6), Cameo author Beth Jacobellis tried out for WGN Radio's Christmas Carol. It's been captured on film...
=For some reason, 2017 was the Year of the Truffle. This week in 2017 (December 6), we went to our very own truffle expert, author of the foodie novel Truffle Hunt, Brent Petersen, to get an explanation of why. You can read his treatise on the Truffle year of 2017 here.
=This week in 2012 (December 7), Living Wills co-author Rick Kaempfer was asked to participate in an interview called The Next Big Thing. Among the things you'll learn in this interview is the inspiration for the book, who would/could play the parts of the main characters, and more. You can read it here. (Photo: Living Wills co-authors Rick and Brendan)
=This week in 1970 (December 1), Chicago Magazine became a full-size magazine. In 2002, they named City U author Bob Boone as Chicagoan of the Year.
=This week in 1893 (December 7), Virginia Kirkus was born. She became the founder of Kirkus Reviews, which is a highly respected reviewer. Kirkus has reviewed about a dozen of our books.
=This is what they said about Mark Wukas' The Kiss of Night...
Mark Wukas succeeds in creating sympathetic characters that have exceptional depth. … The detailed descriptions of Chicago give the work a feeling of verisimilitude and paint a vivid picture of the city. … The relationships between the characters remain dynamic, and the story’s mystery elements are well executed throughout. An often-thrilling crime novel that explores questions of loyalty, justice, and morality.
=This is what they said about Kim Strickland's Down at the Golden Coin...
A lesson in faith and the power of positive thinking, all nestled within a satisfying story.
=And this is what they said about Bob Boone's City U...
Boone’s economical use of dialogue serves a dual purpose, as characters reveal questionable attitudes in a small amount of space or, more often, withhold uncomfortable truths from themselves and others. These layered, often humorous classroom insights are buoyed by the author’s lean, clear writing style.